What is quality of life, anyway?

Quality of life is the level of overall wellbeing for individuals or a society. Major factors that are related to quality of life include: income level, health, political stability and security, family life, community life, climate and geography, job security, political freedom, and gender equality.1

A family entering the Slavic Park in Sprottau, Poland. Parks and green spaces can improve people’s quality of life.

A country’s quality of life gives a more well rounded perspective than a country’s standard of living because the first includes many related aspects that deal with people’s life satisfaction, while the second concept exclusively focuses on economic wealth.2

Who is most affected?

Those who cannot meet their basic needs have the lowest quality of life. Basic needs include adequate food, water, shelter, healthcare, and education. In developing countries, for example, only one of ten HIV/AIDS patients is receiving appropriate treatment for their disease.3 In sub-Saharan Africa, where the disease is most prevalent, this has profound negative effects on family and community life.4

A woman living with HIV/AIDS.

A low quality of life can also result from unsustainable resource use. The state of the environment is interconnected with quality of life for the people living within it, and the goal of sustainable development is to improve them both together. Without planning and advocacy, however, development is often far from sustainable. The world’s poor are locked in a vicious circle, in which they deplete natural resources around them quickly to try to improve their quality of life. An example of this is unsustainable farming practices in Laos:5

Starting in 1975, the Laotian government decided that rural villagers should be resettled in areas that were more accessible in terms of healthcare and education. In addition, there were laws created that limited each family to three plots of land, and by doing this, forests were protected from being cut down. While these decisions would seem like improvements to quality of life for the villagers, they actually did not turn out that way. More villagers were living in a smaller area and with less land than they were used to. In order to maintain their farming livelihood, they began to double their crop production. By not allowing the soil to lie fallow, there was massive soil erosion, decreased crop yields, and poor soil quality.

The villagers, just like others in poverty all around the world, wanted to live a good life using the natural resources that were available to them. They were accustomed to having larger tracts of land where they could use slash and burn techniques on one parcel while planting on another. Read about traditional Laotian farming practices.

The effect of unsustainable farming practices was to make the villagers even poorer than they were before. This pattern has been shown in other developing countries as well.6

Where are consequences felt?

As of 2005, Ireland and Switzerland were the countries with the highest quality of life, while Haiti and Zimbabwe had the lowest scores.7 See the map below to find out more about the range of scores in countries around the globe.

A map showing Quality of Life, as measured by the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Quality of Life index. Dark green is the countries with the highest levels of Quality of Life, then kelly green, then lime, then yellow, then orange, then red. Gray means that there is no data available.

Why is quality of life important?

Without sizeable improvements in quality of life, the world’s poorest people will continue to suffer from a variety of negative outcomes, like hunger, disease, and conflict. The environment will become increasingly degraded because of desperation and shortsighted action.

Although many people in the developed world enjoy a very high quality of life, we do so at the cost of those who cannot support their basic needs. Energy use and greenhouse gas emissions are points of disagreement between the developed and developing world. The developed world uses more than 5 times the energy per person of the developing world.8 The Kyoto protocol was an important step in bringing nations together to commit to reducing greenhouse gas emissions 5% over the period 2008-2012.9See which countries have ratified the agreement.

Quality of Life Lessons

Defining Happiness (Grades 9-12)
Students individually decide what types of things positively contribute to their quality of life. They compare their ideas about quality of life to national statistics related to how Americans spend their time and determine how Americans could restructure their time to improve quality of life. They also evaluate their own progress toward “the good life” and how their personal consumption habits impact your progress.

In the Pursuit of Happiness (Grades 9-12)
Students analyze the Preamble of the Declaration of Independence. They then read a number of different quotes from people throughout history related to happiness. Students will interpret what these quotes mean in small groups and choose one which resonates with them the most. They write an opinion essay that speaks to their personal philosophy on the pursuit of happiness.

Livin' the Good Life? (Grades 5-12)
Students develop indicators to measure quality of life and conduct a survey of peers and adults to obtain data for their indicators. They analyze the survey data using spreadsheet software and then compare their own performance as measured by the quality of life indicators against averages determined by the survey results.

What’s Your Rank? (Grades 9-12)
Students are divided into groups to research regions around the world. Based on the United Nations Human Development Index Indicators and rankings, they analyze statistics for 5 countries within their assigned region. They will then consider regional differences in rankings and possible roots causes of these differences.

We equip and motivate students to develop critical thinking skills, build global awareness, and engage in positive solutions for a sustainable future through hands-on curricula and professional learning.